Running head: CHANGING ROLE OF HR MANAGEMENT

Changing Role of HR Management Frank Alger MGT/431 September 26, 2011 Jarrett E. Walton

CHANGING ROLE OF HR MANAGEMENT Changing Role of HR Management Up until about 15 years ago the function of the Human Resource professional was seen as a clerical and administrative function in most companies. Human resource personnel were simply seen as the personnel departments worker and were simply a department that maintained employee records. Now the Human Resource professional is looked upon as an iatrical part of the company that is tasked with helping the company to achieve their goals. Human Resources management is no longer just the paper work keepers but is the heartbeat of the organization.

Human resource professionals are the ones that now handle all of the most important functions of running, maintaining, and proper employee flow of the business, these functions include company policies, company best practices and systems that influence all employee behavior, attitudes, and performance. Human Resource management, if well managed, can contribute to the success of a companys basic objectives such as quality, profits, and customer satisfaction (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhert, Wright, 2003, Pg. 19). Human Resource is a specialized function and the vast majority of HRM professionals have a college degree, and many also have completed postgraduate work (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhert, Wright, 2003, Pg. 21). The role of the HR manager must parallel the needs of his or her changing organization (Heathfield, 2011). Successful organizations are becoming more adaptive, resilient, quick to change direction and customer-centered (Heathfield, 2011). A large number of companies have found that in order to survive they must compete in international markets (The Changing Role of Human Resources Management - SMARTFORCE, 2011). Human Resource professionals are finding that competing in the international market is very difficult and that their companies need to take another look at what and where they are doing as they are losing to their Asian and Latin American competitors. Human Resource professionals have found that their role has not only

CHANGING ROLE OF HR MANAGEMENT

changed but is in a constant state of change as they need to think outside the box if they expect to reach and maintain their goals and objectives. Human Resource professionals in the past have considered themselves enablers of change and keepers of resources but their role has evolved into much more than that now (Changing Role of HR Managers, 2011). Even though they still maintain that role their responsibilities have vastly increased over the last decade or so. Not only do they keep the resources but they are also the facilitators of most change that happens within the company. Where as in the past it was incumbent on the management to make and monitor the change now with all the laws, statutes, and regulations in place they just cannot keep up so the Human Resource department and professionals are the ones tasked with this responsibility. This is why the average Human Resource profession has at lest a bachelors degree and most have more education than that. One of the biggest challenges for Human Resource professionals is that in many companies they are an island all to themselves. They help keep the company going and help approve and set policies but do not have a really understanding of what the average worker in the company does or what their work environment is. This creates a huge problem for the company as then you have the Human Resource professional that is supposed to be the middle man between the company and the employee ensuring that both are working within the rules and regulations and both are being taken care of (Writer, 2011) . Many times as a result of staying in their Ivory Tower they give advice and set policies that are not in the best interests of both the employee and the company. Granted that not in every situation can this balance be struck but more often than not it can but just isnt being done. Another challenge to Human Resource professionals if the advent of E-Commerce; this has allowed many companies to down size thus reducing the Human Resource staff needed. This

CHANGING ROLE OF HR MANAGEMENT has also created a new set of issues as many companies are now allowing employees to work from home with company resources. This creates another set of challenges for the Human Resource professional as now they must monitor employees that are spread out sometimes over several states working from home.

All in all the Human Resource professional must be educated, self motivated, and able to quickly adapt to an ever changing company dynamic and environment.

CHANGING ROLE OF HR MANAGEMENT References Heathfield, S. M. (2011). The New Roles of the Human Resources Professional. Retrieved from http://humanresources.about.com/od/hrbasicsfaq/a/hr_role.htm Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2007). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. The Changing Role of Human Resources Management - SMARTFORCE. (2011, July 19). Retrieved from http://ccepp.ca/news/changing-role-human-resources-managementsmartforce Writer, S. (2011, February 14). Simple HR Mistakes. Retrieved from http://blogs.payscale.com/compensation/2011/02/hr-mistakes.html Changing Role of HR Managers. (2011, July 17). Retrieved from http://www.hrnutshell.com/topics/topics-covered-group1-key-to-survival/changemgt/item/72-changing-role-of-hr-managers